This representative selection of piano works by the most intriguing
Czech female composer of the first half of the 20th century opens with
the Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 7, with which in 1935 the
twenty-year-old Kapralova graduated from the Brno Conservatory. In
chronological terms, it is preceded by the two years older Sonata

Appassionata, Op. 6, placed at the very end of the disc. Three
Piano Pieces, Op. 9. from late 1935, dates from the first few months of
the composer's studies at the Prague Conservatory, while Variations
sur le carillon de leglise St-Etienne du Mont, Op. 16, was written
during her final. Paris-linked creative period. Alice Rajnohova has
devoted to Kapralova's piano works for a number of years and it is
evident that the composer's world is close to her-when listening to
the CD, I had the constant, very pleasant feeling that the pianist and
the composer were on the same wavelength. Alice Rajnohova performs the
Piano Concerto with exceptional lan and understanding, with her playing
evoking the mindset of the twenty-year-old Kapralova, bursting with
energy and sheer joie de vivre. The first movement abounds in so many
ideas-both compositional and interpretational-and so much is going on in
it that you have an impression reminiscent of film music. The slow
movement takes you by surprise with its brevity and darkness, which is
in splendid contrast to the playful yet rhythmically engrossing final
movement. Zlin's Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted
by Tomas Hanus, play with great zest and with an exuberance as youthful
as that of the soloist. With regard to it being a "live"
recording, the orchestra's sound is captured splendidly. yet it is
possible that in the case of a studio recording and a more appropriate
arrangement of microphones it would have been even more rounded. In
comparison with the grand-scale conception of the Piano Concerto, the
pieces for solo piano represent rather more intimate works. Yet in them
too Kapralova offers a copious amount of expression and mood contrasts,
and it is true bliss to listen to how smoothly and sensitively Alice
Rajnohova is able to gradate them. Notwithstanding the compositional
diversity and variety and bearing in mind the fastidiousness (and many a
time compactness) of the instrumental texture, Rajnohova's
interpretation as a pianist is exceptionally pure and limpid, which may
be one of the reasons why all the compositions-including the most
complex-as performed by her are perfectly lucid and clear in structural
terms. The booklet featuring Daniela Zichova's very nicely designed
cover contains high-quality and interesting texts written by Alice
Rajnohova and Jan Hlavac, as well as brief profiles of all the
interpreters. It comes, however, as something of a surprise that
Radioservis was not able to make marketing use of the fact that the
Piano Concerto and Three Piano Pieces are in fact "world premiere
recordings" and that it did not highlight this on the cover. or at
least on the track list. The CD's release was sponscred by
Canada's Kapralova Society and we can safely assume that Alice
Rajnohova's recording will rank high among the projects the company
has supported.

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